Season 7
by trumpetchick9
Summary: As an avid LukeLorelai fan, this is how I would like season 7 to go. This story is intended to provide relief for all unsatisfied fans.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note …Quite simply, the new season is bugging me. I'm sorry to say that I have kind of abandoned some of my other fics (my apartment didn't have internet last sem., so it was hard to keep up in the world of fanfics), but I just had to do this one… namely because I'm frustrated with what's been done with the show. The combination of the Lorelai/Chris marriage and the cheesy "I love you" "But I love you more" dialogue of Rory/Logan is making me sick. As it is not my show and I have absolutely no influence on its writers, I won't accomplish anything by bitching about it with my similarly addicted friends... but what I CAN do is to write my own version so Luke/Lorelai fans like me will stop wanting to rip Lorelai out of the TV screen and slap her across the face._

Lorelai's head was pounding. Too much vodka. Too much gin. Too much… what all had they drank last night? She couldn't remember.

It was warm in Christopher's apartment, but she shivered. His arm around her was too heavy. Normally an embrace like this made Lorelai comfortable, but this one was suffocating. She couldn't breathe. She realized that the arm wasn't too heavy – it was just the wrong arm.

"Good morning, Lor," Chris breathed. He kissed the side of her neck. Wrong, wrong, it all just felt so wrong. She had to get out.

Lorelai stood as fast as her hung-over body would permit, grabbing at her clothes as fast as she could. She had to get out of there. She had to get back home, back to Stars Hollow, back to Rory, back to last night so she could undo this horrible mistake…

But there was no way to go back. Lorelai realized with a sinking feeling that she may have burned a bridge, may have done irreparable damage to the floundering relationship she and Luke had tried so hard to sustain over these past few months. How could she do this to him?

"Lor? What are you doing?" Chris asked. "Come back to bed." He smiled and held his arms open.

Into them Lorelai shoved the sheet she'd been holding around herself; she was already fully dressed. "I can't, Chris."

Chris frowned. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Lorelai let out a hollow laugh. "I'll tell you what's wrong. I'm _engaged_, Chris. To another man. And I came here, and I slept with you. God, what is wrong with me?"

Chris shook his head. "I thought you told me that it was over with Luke."

"It was – is. I mean, I walked away. But I didn't say it was over, exactly. I didn't really break things off. For all he knows, we just had a fight, and I've come here and done this. God, what an idiot!"

"You have no right to yell at me for this. You came here, Lorelai. It was your choice," Chris said angrily.

Lorelai could feel tears pushing their way into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Chris. I have to go," she choked out, rushing out of his apartment so he wouldn't see her cry. If she cried, he would want to comfort her, that's the kind of guy he was now. But that would only make her feel worse.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

Rory rolled over and looked out the window. It was raining – of course. She'd crawled back into bed after saying good-bye to Logan. After tossing and turning for a few hours, it was apparent that she was wide awake for the day.

Rory stared at a clock on the wall, watching the second hand snap from one second to the next, working its way in an eternal circle. If she watched intently enough, she could almost see the minute hand move – or was that only her imagination?

Tick, tock.

Okay, this was insane, Rory realized. She had to get out of bed and do something. That was the kind of girl she was. The only way she was going to cope with her feelings of loss was – well, to ignore them, and make lists. Lost of lists. There were so many things she probably needed to do, but hadn't gotten around to, what with finals and party planning and all. What should be on the list? Cleaning up the apartment, of course. Taking the empty beer cans and rum bottles to the recycling center. Maybe buying some summer clothes. Okay. She could do this. She could stand up and get started on the list.

Tick, tock.

Rory shuffled into the kitchen and dumped coffee grounds into the state-of-the-art coffeemaker that sat atop Logan's counter. She stared at the liquid as it slowly trickled into the coffeepot, then poured a cup and sat by the window, watching droplets race each other down the window pane. _I have got to go do something_, she thought, but though her mind compelled her body to move, her feet wouldn't have it. She sat, motionless. What was she going to do? It was summer, and Logan was gone. The loss was palpable – probably because when Logan was here, he usually had an entourage of loud friends in tow, or he at least turned up his sound system. The apartment was dead silent, but for the clock, and an occasional weird noise from the refrigerator.

Tick, tock.

Maybe she could have a Stars Hollow weekend. That usually cured everything. Breakfast at Luke's, a browse through Andrew's bookstore, a "Soap" marathon with her mom, and maybe even a classic Taylor blowup thrown in there somewhere. And Lane was getting back from her honeymoon tomorrow. Rory made a mental note to visit Lane and ask for every minute detail of their vacation in Mexico – which, considering the fact that Lane had taken hundreds of pictures of just her high school prom, was likely to have been well-documented. First, of course, she'd stop by her home and see her Lorelai.

She called her house. No answer. _Mom's probably out with Luke,_ she reasoned. Rory finally stopped dragging her feet, got herself ready, and headed out to her car. Even if her mom wasn't around, this heartbreak was something that only Stars Hollow could fix.

Rory arrived to find an empty house – empty, that is, except for Paul Anka, who was standing on the kitchen table. Rory knew better than to be surprised at this; she simply hunted for the dog's bowl. Just as she'd finished filling it with dog food, Rory heard the front door slam. "Mom?" she called out.

Rory circled into the family room – to see her mom, face tear-stained, sink onto the couch. "Oh my God, what happened, Mom?"

Lorelai shook her head, burying her face into her hands. "It's over."

"What?" Rory sat beside her mother and wrapped an arm around her.

"Me and Luke. It's over. It's all over and it's my fault."


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for reading and commenting. And I promise to make Luke and Lorelai fans happy… I have big plans for this story, so keep reading!_

…

As Lorelai followed her daughter through an alley full of garbage, she almost laughed. Once, Rory had insisted they take this disgusting route to avoid Dean on their morning errands. Now, it was Rory who was the protector, keeping Lorelai far out of range of the diner. Rory was hell-bent on finishing a list of chores she'd made up, and Lorelai, hoping to evade prying questions for as long as possible, had followed all too eagerly. She explained to Rory only that she'd had a monstrous fight with Luke and she left out all specific details of the previous night (particularly the fact that Chris had been involved).

Rory drug her mother around town for three or four hours. It was a classic Stars Hollow day, sunny and warm outside. They ran into Miss Patty and Babette about halfway in, gossiping beside Booty's newspaper stand. When the two women dropped to more hushed tones the moment they saw Lorelai, she knew they'd been talking about her.

Lorelai decided to put her head up. "Hi, Patty, Babette," she said, as cheerfully as she could manage. She really had about as much cheer as a dirge, but she lacked the energy to care. After ten minutes of crying, then twenty of dressing and accessorizing, hungover, all without Luke's coffee, Lorelai was struggling just to stay conscious.

"Oh, hi, sugar," Babette answered, subdued.

"I heard you were having a fight with Luke," Miss Patty pried irreverently.

"Patty, who did you hear that from?" Lorelai demanded.

"No, I mean I heard it, honey. My studio's just across the square, you know, and you were shouting awfully loudly," Patty said.

"Plus, Andrew was at the diner drinkin' coffee, and saw you two arguin' right in front of the customers," Babette added.

"Oh," Lorelai said.

"Is everything all right between you two?" Babette pressed.

"Sure, everything's fine. We just had a small disagreement, that's all," Lorelai lied. She nudged Rory in the ribs, hard.

"Ow!" Rory cried. She glared at her mother, then said, "Oh. Mom, shouldn't we get going?"

"Sure, you girls get going!" Babette said. "Don't waste your day standing here talking to us old broads."

Lorelai smiled kindly at Babette and Miss Patty. "Have a nice day."

"Oh, I'm sure I will," Miss Patty said in an overtly seductive manner as she sized up a very attractive businessman buying a paper.

"Mom, what _happened _last night?" Rory asked as they walked down the street.

"Nothing, okay? I don't want to talk about it," Lorelai replied. She wasn't ready to process it yet, and saying it out loud was just too horrible.

The rest of the morning continued relatively smoothly, everyone chatting with Lorelai and telling Rory they were glad to have her home. When they reached the end of the list, Rory sent Lorelai back to the house, claiming to have plans to meet Lane at Weston's for coffee.

When Lorelai got home, the first thing she noticed was a blinking red light on the answering machine. She pressed the button, and Luke's voice filled the room.

"Look, Lorelai, about last night." There was a pause. "Things… didn't go well. I wasn't thinking. Or maybe I was thinking too much. I don't know. But I… I'm sorry, Lorelai. I want more time, but like I said a long time ago, I'm all in. I don't know if you still want to marry me. But if you will, I'll do it. I… you just have to…" There was a long sigh, during which Lorelai squeezed her eyes shut, to hold back tears. "Lorelai, I'm so sorry. Just… call me back, alright?"

Luke had baked a coffeecake for Rory when she turned sixteen.

He had broken into Lorelai's house, on many occasions, just to fix things, because he couldn't wait until she came home.

He had once come over, late in the evening, to help Lorelai scour the house for a baby chick, just to have the chance to be with her a couple more hours.

He kept that horoscope in his pocket for eight years.

He had experienced every insane detail about Lorelai's life – her parents, her weird dog, her tendency to make conversation with inanimate objects. Luke was so amazing that not only did he stick around in spite of these things, but he loved her more for them (or so Lorelai suspected). And now, she had to shatter all that with one sentence? Impossible.

Lorelai sunk onto the couch. Yesterday's newspaper was strewn over the coffee table in front of her. She picked up the Lifestyles page and, on a whim, turned to the back, where the daily horoscopes were printed. She scanned the paper for her own.

_You will come to a crossroads today. Take the path that feels right._

That hit all too close to home. If only she'd read the horoscope yesterday, maybe she would have been a little more alert. It was funny, wasn't it, that a little horoscope could carry so much weight. It could foretell a major life alteration. It could also carry years and years of infatuation. It could be a symbol! Lorelai realized, as she began to divulge into a theory on the significance of horoscopes, that she was losing her grip on reality. She had to call Luke, and now. She picked up the phone and stared at it for a moment, holding it close to her face and contemplating whether she had the energy to make the call she was dreading.

The phone rang.

Lorelai screamed and dropped the phone as if it was a rattlesnake. After another ring, she picked it up, and, one hand over her heart, said, "Hello?"

"Hi! It's Sookie," her best friend spoke, her voice unnaturally even.

"Is everything alright?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes! Oh, yes, everything's fine. Except that Julio thinks he can talk to Cecelia and cook at the same – Julio! It's about to boil over! Why aren't you paying attention? Turn the burner down!" Sookie paused for a breath. "Sorry, honey. What was I saying?"

"I have no idea," Lorelai answered, shaking her head.

"Oh, I remember. I was going to ask you if you're coming in today. There was a problem with some of the ordering, and they only got me half the ducks I needed. I was planning to serve duck for dinner, and now I have to come up with a new menu in four hours." Sookie's voice was rising, a sign that she was nervous. "I was hoping you could get the meat guys on the phone and lean on them for a while 'til they would help us out. You can get men to do anything," Sookie giggled. "So, are you coming in?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Sure, Sookie. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

…

"Yes, I understand that there's not much time, but as you know, we've been loyal customers for years, Shell," Lorelai said. "We wouldn't even think of looking at another chicken."

Sookie hovered apprehensively at the front desk, leaning towards the phone.

"We could try to get them elsewhere, but where would we be without our trusty poultry stud, who… uh… Yes, I understand. Yes. Okay." Lorelai hung up the phone and turned to Sookie. "He'll be here in two hours."

"Woo-hoo!" Sookie cheered, throwing her Band-aid-covered hands into the air.

"What is causing her to celebrate?" Michel asked, appearing at the desk. "Her half-witted husband finally learned how to speak proper English?"

"Yes, he did, and now he can teach you!" Lorelai responded sarcastically.

Sookie glared at Michel, then thanked Lorelai quickly and hustled back to her kitchen.

Michel opened the reservation book and rifled through some pages. Lorelai noticed that he was smiling, which could either mean that he was happy, or that he was up to something. "Who are you, the Grinch?" she joked.

"Excuse me?" Michel looked up, bewildered.

"You've got this huge evil smile on your face." Lorelai waved a sheet of paper around, gesturing towards Michel.

"This is not an evil smile. This is the smile of a man who is destined for victory."

"Victory? In what?"

Michel held up a flier with a couple of cartoonish animals on it, grinning proudly. "The Stars Hollow dog show! I am entering my chows, and with their excellent breeding and flawless care, I am sure they will be far superior to the flea-ridden half-breeds that I see so often around this town."

"Let me see that," Lorelai said, snatching the paper from his hands and inspecting it. "This is great! I can enter Paul Anka." She grinned at Michel. "My dog is going to beat your dogs."

"That dirty mutt of yours will never win over my beautiful chows," Michel scoffed.

Lorelai made a face at Michel, then stopped when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. "Luke," she gasped.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks a bunch to Sierra, for being my beta, and to you readers... because your encouraging comments keep me writing :)._

"Smoky. Kind of earthy," Kirk said, gripping a red mug full of coffee and staring pensively into the distance.

"What are you talking about, Kirk?" Lane asked, wiping off the counter, where he was sitting.

Kirk straightened himself. "Oh, I'm talking a coffee-tasting class," he explained. "I realized that Stars Hollow is lacking a good coffee shop, which could draw a more young, hip crowd to the town. I've been thinking about starting a career in the coffee business, so I thought I would start by learning about the finer points of coffee."

Before Lane had to come up with a response, the bell above the diner door rang, and Rory walked in. "Rory!" Lane shrieked, dropping the rag and rushing from behind the counter to give her best friend a hug.

"Lane!" Rory exclaimed. She dropped her purse on the counter and took a seat near Kirk. She greeted him as Lane placed a coffee mug in front of Rory.

"Oh, hello, Rory. You sampling some of this woody blend?" Kirk asked. He returned to his contemplative staring. "There's a hint of pine in here, too. I can't believe I missed it before."

"Um… is Kirk saying that the coffee tastes like a tree?" Rory asked Lane.

"It's Kirk," Lane explained simply. She filled Rory's mug, then leaned forward on her elbows. "So, do you want to hear all about it?"

"Every last detail," Rory grinned.

"Okay." Lane's eyes glittered. She was happy. "Well, we flew there, which went pretty well after I convinced Zach that the plane wasn't going to crash."

"Zach's afraid of planes? Really?" Rory laughed.

"When the flight attendant started pointing out the emergency exits and demonstrating how to use the air masks, he started getting really pale and rattling off the names of musicians who've died in plane crashes."

"Zach thought he was going to be the next Buddy Holly, huh?" Rory said.

"He just kept saying that he didn't want to die before the band got a record deal," Lane answered.

"Hey, can we get some coffee over here?" a customer hollered.

"Sure!" Lane called back. "I'll tell you more later," she promised Rory.

Rory's cell phone began to ring. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hey Ace," Logan said.

"Logan!" Rory shrieked. "How was the flight?"

"Not bad. We just landed, and I thought I'd give you a call, let you know I made it in one piece."

"Thank you," Rory grinned.

The door to the diner swung open, and Taylor sauntered in, carrying a stack of flyers. "Hello, townsfolk! I've come to announce an exiting new town event." He proceeded to hand out flyers as he spoke. "Stars Hollow is hosting its first annual dog show…"

"Rory? What's going on over there?" Logan's voice sounded distant in the clamor that had erupted in the diner.

"Um, hang on a second." Rory rushed out of the diner onto the sidewalk. "I'm back."

"What was all that about?" Logan asked.

"Taylor was announcing a dog show," Rory answered.

"Stars Hollow's having a dog show, huh?" Logan said. His slow, even voice made her smile.

"Yep. We're ritzy here in the Hollow," Rory joked.

Logan laughed. "I need to get my baggage and everything, but I'll call you back soon."

"Okay. Good luck at work tomorrow!"

"Thanks babe. I'll talk to you later."

Rory hung up the phone. She caught Lane's attention in the diner and waved good-bye, then decided to head home to see how her mom was doing.

_...end scene... _

Lorelai stared at her former fiancé. "Luke, what are you doing here?"

"I tried to call your house, but you weren't there, so I figured you might be at work." Luke looked a little frantic.

Lorelai shook her head. "I can't talk to you about this now, Luke." Lorelai was not going to tell Luke that she'd slept with Christopher in front of Michel, who was now very inconspicuously checking reservations. She walked out from behind the desk, towards the front door of the Inn.

Luke followed her. "I _have_ to talk to you."

Lorelai spun around. "What could you possibly have to say to me, Luke? You let me stand there in the middle of the street, just babbling on and on like an idiot, and you didn't hear a thing that I had to say. I told you that we needed to get married, and you wouldn't. So we're not getting married."

"Lorelai, don't say that." Luke's voice was softer, his blue eyes pleading.

Lorelai shook her head. She wrenched open the door to the Inn and walked out to the porch. No reason the guests needed to hear her yelling. "I waited for you, Luke. I waited and you wouldn't go through with it. I have been so patient through this whole April thing, doing everything you've asked. I asked you for _one thing_, and you didn't care enough about me to give that to me."

"Lorelai!" Luke interrupted.

"What?" she shouted.

Luke cleared his throat. "June third."

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"June third." Luke smiled. "We said we were going to get married then anyway. Let's do it on June third. I know it's really soon, but I'm sure it can be nice. We could bring it up at the next crazy town meeting. I'm sure they'll all pitch in. I don't really want Taylor planning my wedding," at this Luke snarled, "but if that's what it takes to make a nice wedding for you, then I'll do it."

"Luke-"

"We can invite the whole town and all of your friends. Rory, Sookie and Jackson and their insane kids, even your parents, if you want them there. I mean, I don't really like hanging around them, but I assume you'd still want your father to give you away and everything."

"Luke, don't." Lorelai was crying. Here he was, saying all of the perfect things she'd wanted last night, and now she could never have any of it. She had ruined it.

"And we can take a trip," he continued. "Caesar did fine when I left him in charge earlier this year. I didn't like how he added the frozen bananas and the fruity flavored coffees, but-"

"Luke, stop," Lorelai cried. "It's not going to happen."

"Yes it is. I'm so sorry, Lorelai, but I really want to-"

"I slept with Christopher."

She hadn't intended to blurt it out like that.

Luke gaped at her. _"What?"_

"Luke, I'm so sorry." Lorelai sniffed.

Luke let out a hollow laugh. "You're serious."

Lorelai nodded tearfully.

"So last night, after you begged me to _marry_ you, you slept with _him?"_ Luke spat. "This is unbelievable."

"I was hurt," Lorelai cried. "You said you didn't want to marry me, and I was just standing there, all confused and upset, and I didn't know where else to go." She shook her head. "It was stupid, I know, but-"

"You're right, it was stupid!" Luke yelled. He closed his eyes and inhaled. He had a look on his face that Lorelai had only seen once before. The day after Jess had left, Luke had stood on her porch and told her, with utter defeat in his eyes, that he had failed his nephew. Lorelai remembered this look well because she had thought, at the time, that she'd never seen Luke defeated before. Grumpy, annoyed, even angry, but never defeated.

Lorelai had to do something to make that look go away. "Luke, I'm so sorry. If there's anything I can do-"

"I can't believe this," Luke interrupted gruffly. He shook his head. "This is it for us. There's nothing you can do." Their eyes met, maybe for the last time, before Luke turned and walked away.

Lorelai stood motionless as Luke left her alone at the very spot where they'd shared their first kiss. She sat down on the steps and buried her face in her hands. God, she loved Luke so much.


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this one posted! My schoolwork took a very menacing turn, and this fanfic was the easiest thing in my life to put on the shelf. But fear not; I am almost done with the next chapter, and I have now plotted out the rest of the fic and am eager to keep working on it now. Thanks for sticking it out, those of you who are still reading. I PROMISE some cute Luke/Lorelai stuff will happen soon :). _

"Sit, Paul Anka! Sit!" Lorelai cooed, bent over her dog.

Paul Anka looked up at his owner for a moment, then trotted into the kitchen.

Lorelai put her hands on her hips and shouted at the kitchen. "You come back here, mister, or else we're not going to have a shot at that first place ribbon. Don't you want a blue ribbon? Blue looks so good with your coloring."

Paul Anka did not reappear.

"Okay." Lorelai turned to her daughter. "Looks like we're going to have to try something new."

"Mom, this is insane," Rory argued. "You are never going to get that dog to listen to you."

"Come on, Rory. Eventually he is going to have to learn what I'm saying."

"You've had him for a year and he still hasn't learned that the vacuum cleaner will not kill him. I don't think he's going to learn these commands in the next two days."

"Oh, he will learn. Even if I have to train him night and day."

"Mom, I'm worried about you. Why do you care so much about this dog show?"

"Rory, it's a town gathering. I have to put this much effort into it. Otherwise, Kirk will somehow find a way to steal the blue ribbon out from under me, and then he will gloat, and then Taylor or Miss Patty or someone will get so annoyed that they will kill him. I'm preventing a homicide here!"

"I'm wondering if you're trying to run away from everything by becoming obsessed with your dog."

"I am not obsessed with my dog."

"You bought him a tuxedo."

"Kirk put so much time into making those! I didn't want to disappoint him."

"Since when do you care about Kirk's business ventures?"

"I, uh… oh look. Here's Paul Anka."

"Don't try to change the subject."

"Rory, I am not going to discuss this with you any further. Weren't you leaving anyway?"

Rory hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder. "Fine, but you better keep me posted on how you're doing. And on what happens when you set Cujo on Michel's chows."

"You'll hear from me the second that blue ribbon is in my hands," Lorelai beamed.

Rory gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, then headed outside to begin her trek back to Yale.

The trip was uneventful, and Rory was pleased by the calm atmosphere of the nearly empty campus. It was bright and clear outside, so Rory grabbed her sunglasses and _The Picture of Dorian Gray_. There was only one more thing she needed to make the afternoon complete: coffee. As she exchanged money for a small coffee, she heard a familiar low voice – and turned to see a certain curly-haired guy who had, regretfully, been quite absent from her life. "Marty!" Rory exclaimed.

A half-smile crossed Marty's face. "Hey, Rory."

"It's been so long!" Rory gushed.

"Yeah, it has." After an awkward pause, Marty said, "So, how have you been?"

Rory smiled. "Good. Really good. I'm the editor of the paper now!"

"Yeah, I heard. I had a class with Paris, and she wore black the whole week she lost the job."

"She also kicked me out of the apartment," Rory said.

"Apartment? Were you still living with Paris? Why?"

"It was after I dropped out of Yale."

"Dropped - what?" Marty gave her a confused look.

Rory laughed. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

Rory and Marty sat on a tree-shaded bench near the coffee cart, recounting details of the last couple of years of their lives.

_-gg-_

Lorelai groaned. She'd been bent over the toilet for five minutes now, waves of nausea coming and then residing. This was just great. As if she didn't have enough on her plate, with her personal life falling to pieces and all – now she had to be sick, too?

Lorelai decided to search the cabinets for some crackers, hoping they'd soothe her stomach. As always, there was absolutely no food in the house, save some Al's Pancake World takeout boxes in the fridge. For some reason, the thought of stale Chinese made Lorelai want to be violently ill.

Luke's was out of the question, of course, but maybe Lorelai could grab something at Doose's and settle down in front of a movie. She threw on a pair of sandals. It was a warm, breezy evening in Stars Hollow. The square was full of dogs and their owners; the news of the dog show had brought a stir to the town, and through all hours of the day, people could be seen trotting their puppies in circles in preparation for the big event.

Once in Doose's market, Lorelai glanced over the cookies, chips, pop. Nothing looked good to her until she reached the produce section. Had the fruits and vegetables always looked so delicious? The carrots were so orange, the lemons such a sunny yellow, the granny-smith apples a shamrock green. God, she wanted one. She could almost taste the apple in her mouth, tart and sweet, the juice exploding as she crunched on it-

Crap.

_-gg-_

Rory had an extra bounce in her step as she walked home from her meeting with Marty. Her phone rang, and she answered with a cheery, "Hello?"

"Hey Ace, just wanted to check in. How's your day?"

"Oh, it's so great to hear from you, Logan!" Rory grinned. "My day has been eventful, actually. I spent the morning in Stars Hollow with my mom, then I ran into an old friend here, Marty. You remember Marty?"

Logan paused. "Marty, the guy who asked you out?"

"Well… yes." Rory added, "That was a long time ago, though."

"I see. So you ran into Marty, and…"

"We had coffee, and we talked, and we promised to meet up."

"So you're seeing him again?"

"Logan, what is the big deal?"

Logan sighed. "I'm sorry. I've just had a long day. It's alright if you're hanging with Marty. He seemed like a cool guy."

"Yeah, he is. And that's all that's going on, I swear." Rory took a sip of her coffee. "Now tell me about your day."

After a brief conversation about Logan's business ventures, Rory hung up the phone. Not a second later, it rang again, and Lorelai's voice was in Rory's ear.

"I don't want Chinese food."

"Did Al get in a fight with his girlfriend again and mix up the recipes?" Rory shifted the phone to her other ear.

"No, it's not about Al's. I don't want Chinese food. Period. I don't want Chinese food, or hamburgers, or chips, or even chocolate. I went to Doose's, and guess what I got?"

Rory thought for a moment. "Cookies?"

"Chicken."

"You don't know how to make chicken."

"I know, but I bought it anyway. Chicken, and apples. And grapefruit, and carrots, and lettuce."

Something clicked in Rory's mind. "Apples? Oh no."

"Oh yes." Lorelai paused for a moment. "I bought a test today. Hon, I'm pregnant."


	5. Chapter 5

_As always, thanks for reading :)._

_Luke and Lorelai fans – relax! Remember that I'm rooting for them too. There will be a very cute and satisfying ending, I just have to make you suffer for a little while first ;)._

_And I'm on spring break now, so I'll be updating a lot. You'll know for sure who the father is in two more chapters, and that will likely happen by the end of the week._

_-gg-_

Lorelai snuck quietly through the aisles at Doose's. A solidly executed plan and cat-like quickness were necessary, Lorelai knew. She felt a little like James Bond on a deadly operation.

She was in aisle two, and she needed to get to aisle seven. That's where the item she needed was. Fortunately, Taylor was currently in his ice cream store, and the new kid in town was at the cash register. The new kid would never recognize her or know who to blab to. Of course, he'd also not know to keep his mouth shut around Babette and Patty, but that didn't really matter if he didn't even know who she was.

Now all she needed was for Gypsy to finish paying for her groceries… and leave the market. Three… two…

Lorelai took off like a shot towards aisle seven. She grabbed the essential item off the shelf, not stopping to look at brands or prices, and hustled to the counter, where the new kid was being altogether too polite.

"How are you today, ma'am?" he asked, smiling.

"Oh, fine. I did step in a pretty deep puddle this morning, which threw off – never mind. Can you just ring this up for me?"

"Sure!" The new kid nodded. "Paper or plastic?"

"Plastic. No, paper!" she corrected. Plastic was sometimes a bit see-through.

"That's eleven thirty-one."

Lorelai handed the new kid twelve dollars, and he began to count out the change. "Just keep it," she said hastily, eyeing the box lying on the counter. Couldn't he just put it in the bag? Any second now, someone was going to-

"Lorelai!" Miss Patty's voice boomed to Lorelai's right, causing her to cringe. "What is that you've got?" Miss Patty leaned in to get a better view of the pregnancy test lying on the counter, then gasped. "Oh, my."

"This is not what it looks like," Lorelai said quickly.

"What is it, then?"

"I just- I mean Rory- I- she needed- crap." There was really no way to recover from this one.

"Well, well, well," Miss Patty said slowly, grinning widely. "I guess you and Luke are working things out, huh?" She smiled knowingly at Lorelai.

"Oh, no. We're not back together or anything, Patty. Don't go telling the town that." Lorelai sighed. "I would ask that you not tell the town anything, but that's probably a lost cause, isn't it?"

Miss Patty shrugged. "I'm sure not going to let that damn East Side Tilly beat me to it. This is the biggest news we've had in months!"

Lorelai smiled uncomfortably. "Well could you hold off being excited about me and Luke at least?"

"Oh no." Miss Patty looked concerned. "Isn't it Luke's? Whose is it?"

"I just… I can't tell you anything yet. Just let me talk to the guy, and Rory, then I promise you'll be the first to hear anything."

"Oh, I'm always the first to hear everything." Miss Patty fanned herself slightly with a magazine in her hand. "You let me know if you need anything, okay honey?"

Lorelai smiled. "Of course I will. Thanks, Patty."

_-gg-_

"Jonie, I need the feature story now," Rory said, stopping by a reporter's desk in her whirl around the newsroom.

"But it's not ready," Jonie moaned. "I can't finish a story about the grant given to the medical school until I actually talk to the head of the medical school. How am I supposed to find out what they're doing with the 50 million dollars until I do?"

"I don't know," Rory said, "But you're going to have to get him on the phone soon. Because if you don't finish this article, I'm going to be printing a big blank front page, and I think the student population would probably frown on that."

Jonie sighed and dug her fingers into her long hair. "But he's-"

Rory's phone began to jingle, and she saw that the call was from her mother. "I have to take this. You just keeping bugging the dean of the med school, okay?"

Jonie nodded and began to dial her phone.

Rory flipped her phone open. "So?"

"Yep." Lorelai was sitting on the couch, enormous mug of coffee in her hand. "It's positive. I'm pregnant."

"Wow," Rory breathed. "What are you going to do?"

Lorelai gave a quick sigh. "I'm… going to have a baby, hon."

"Oh my God, Mom, this is so huge." Rory couldn't help grinning. "I'm going to be a big sister!"

Lorelai smiled tentatively. "Yep, you are."

Rory could sense that something was wrong. "You're not happy about this, are you?"

"I don't know, hon." Lorelai paused. "It's just that I always thought that when I had another kid, I'd actually be married, and we could be one big happy family, like at the end of It's a Wonderful Life. You know, where one little girl's playing the piano, and the husband's holding a kid, and they're all standing in front of a Christmas tree singing. Oh, and I wouldn't mind people dumping money on a table either. Going back in time and hanging out with an angel might be a little weird, though."

Gently, Rory asked, "Who is going to be the father? I mean, it could be either-"

"I know."

"Do you know whose it is?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell him yet?"

"Nope."

"But don't you think-"

"Rory, I will tell him when I'm ready. But I just can't yet. I'm still… adjusting to the fact that I'm having a baby, you know?"

"I know." Rory smiled. "It is pretty amazing, isn't it?"

"It kind of it," Lorelai said softly. "I've got to go to the Inn."

"Okay. I'll call later." Rory hung up the phone and returned to Jonie, who seemed to be about two seconds away from ripping all of her hair out.

_-gg-_

The door to the diner swung open, and Kirk limped in, arms covered in bandages. He staggered to a seat at the counter and moaned, "Coffee!"

"Oh my God, Kirk. What happened to you?" Lane gasped.

"I'm not sure whether you heard, but I'm making doggy tuxedos for the dog show," Kirk explained. "I was working on a white one for Mrs. Willkins' dog Snuggles. My best craftsmanship yet, might I add. I was trying it on him to get it fitted, and I accidentally poked him with a pin. He started viciously attacking me. I had to get stitches and everything."

"That's awful, Kirk." Lane handed him a menu. "Can I get you some food?"

Kirk looked at the menu. "Sure, but nothing with meat. Dogs eat meat, and I don't want anything that will remind me of this morning." He looked up at Lane. "How is the veggie burger?"

"You've had the veggie burger before, Kirk. I'm sure you like it."

"But would meat perhaps rebuild my strength?" Kirk mused. "To get the dog off me this morning, I started running down the street. I had to run half a mile before he let me go."

Luke, who was placing an order with someone nearby, overheard and asked, "You ran down the street half a mile with a dog hanging from your ankle?"

"Actually, by that point, he had latched onto my posterior." Kirk winced as he readjusted his position on the stool. "That's why I'm having a little trouble sitting down."

Luke shook his head. "I should've saved that trip to Woodbridge until tomorrow."

"I'll get back to you later, Kirk," Lane said, dangerously close to laughter. She stopped by a corner table where Babette and Miss Patty were leaned in close, whispering. They stopped immediately when Lane walked up. "Here's your lunch," Lane said, placing two plates in front of the women.

"Thanks, doll," Babette said. When Lane left, she resumed grilling Patty. "So do you know any more than that?"

"No. I just saw her in Doose's with a pregnancy test." Miss Patty thought for a moment. "She wanted to make sure I didn't tell the town that Luke was the father. But who else would the father be?"

"I heard that Lorelai slept with Christopher. You know, Rory's father," Babette informed her.

Miss Patty gasped. "Christopher? Really?"

Babette nodded. "Andrew's cousin Meredith works with the horses over at the Dragonfly. I guess she was just comin' in to groom the horses, and she heard Luke and Lorelai fightin' on the front porch, something about how Lorelai had slept with Christopher the night after they were shoutin' at each other in the street."

"How on earth did I miss that?" Miss Patty wondered.

"Well, a lot's been happening in the last couple of weeks, what with dogs continuously assaulting Kirk and Mr. Johnson's sex change operation and all."

Miss Patty nodded solemly. "It has been busy around here."

"So do you think the baby is Christopher's?" Babette mused.

"It must be."

Babette shook her head. "Poor Luke. This is going to break his little heart."

Both women paused to watch Luke take an order at the counter. He looked up for a second, and both women leaned towards each other and began laughing and talking rather loudly.

Luke approached their table with the coffeepot, leaning over and filling their half-empty mugs. As soon as he reached them, the women stopped chattering again. "Alright, what's going on with you two?" Luke asked.

"Nothing, Luke," Miss Patty said nervously. "Why would you think something was going on?"

"I've been hearing my name for the last half hour!" he grumbled.

Babette looked at Miss Patty. "Should we tell him?"

"Tell me what?"

Babette looked at Luke. "We found something out this morning, sugar. Lorelai…"

"She's having a baby," Miss Patty helped.

"With Christopher," Babette added.

"What?" he said quietly.

"I'm so sorry, Luke," Miss Patty said sympathetically.

Luke sat down on a stool for a moment, letting the news sink in. How could this be happening?

_-gg-_

In the kitchen of the Inn, the heavily Band-Aided hand of Sookie was busily whisking eggs. Sookie hummed, while the kitchen staff buzzed around her, in the midst of a heavy lunch rush.

"So here's a nice twist," Lorelai said, trotting into the kitchen in her high heels and dress.

"What? Something happen with Emily?" Sookie said, looking up at her best friend, but still whisking.

"I wish it was that simple," Lorelai sighed.

Sookie cringed. "Worse than something with Emily? Yikes."

Lorelai nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm pregnant."

"You're pregnant?" Sookie screeched. When Lorelai nodded in confirmation, Sookie squealed and threw the whisk over her shoulder. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're having a baby!" She rushed around the counter and threw her arms around Lorelai.

Lorelai's eyes were brimming with tears. "I'm having a baby."

"I'm so happy for you," Sookie said, holding both her hands. "Are you okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "I just wish I didn't have to raise a kid alone again."

"Aw sweetie, you are never going to be raising this kid alone. Everyone in town is going to help you out. I'll be there all the time, and Rory, and Patty and Babette, even Kirk."

"That's a scary thought," Lorelai cringed.

"Yeah, I'd keep him away from Kirk," Sookie agreed. "Or her."

"Or her," Lorelai echoed. As soon as Lorelai began wondering whether she'd have a boy or girl, the baby became a real person to her. She was going to have a person living in her house, counting on her to raise him or her. And she was going to love it so much.

Lorelai began to cry, as Sookie hugged her again. Lorelai grinned and said, "Sookie, I'm going to have a baby."


	6. Chapter 6

_Just to warn you, this chapter is a bit on the long side. But answers have been so begged for that I decided to be nice and appease my loyal readers before going to sleep tonight. See, leaving comments IS beneficial! Hint hint… ;)_

-gg-

"I don't understand why we're still coming to these stupid things," Lorelai grumbled as she parked her Jeep in front of Emily and Richard's house.

"Mom, you are the one who reinstated Friday night dinners," Rory reminded her. "We were off the hook when Dad lent me the money for Yale. But you drug us back here and let Grandma blow up at me. I went through all of that for you. Now you are not going to sit here and weasel out of it."

"I am not weaseling out of anything," Lorelai argued. "Why do people say weasel anyway? Weasels are so gross. I think we should change it to a cuter animal. Next time someone doesn't want to do something, I'm going to say, 'Oh, you're just trying to bunny your way out of it.' Huh? Bunny?"

Rory shook her head. "Could this sudden interest in bunnies have anything to do with the fact that you don't want to tell your parents that you're pregnant, and you're trying to avoid the subject?"

"What am I going to tell them, Rory? 'Oh hi, Mom. What's new? Funny you should ask - I'm going to have another illegitimate child!'"

"You can probably put it a little more delicately than that."

"Regardless, that's how my parents are going to hear it. And suddenly I'll be sixteen again, and they'll be trying to marry me off to the father."

"And when are you going to tell me who that is?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I don't know, hon. I mean, I'm ninety-nine percent sure of whose it is, but I have to figure out how to tell him first."

"Have you talked to either of them about it?" Rory asked gently.

"No," Lorelai answered. "Chris has been calling, but I just can't deal with talking to him right now. And I don't think Luke is ever going to talk to me again."

"He will if you're having his kid. And even if it's not his, you know he'd want to help out. You have to tell Luke, Mom."

"That's a bridge I'll cross later."

"When?"

"When I'm ready."

A moment passed. "Mom, we have to go in there at some point." Rory looked pointedly at the door of her grandparents' house.

"You're right. Let's go."

A few seconds after ringing the bell, the huge oak door swung open and Emily greeted them with, "Well, get in here," then marched into the living room.

"Well hello to you too, Mom! Me? I'm just fine. Oh, by the way, I split up with Luke and slept with Christopher and I'm now pregnant," Lorelai said to the empty air.

"Where are you two?" Emily yelled.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "That woman is unbelievable."

"Let's just see what's going on," Rory said, guiding her mother to the sofa.

"Vodka martinis with a twist," Emily said, shoving martini glasses into the girls' hands.

"Um, is something wrong, Mom?" Lorelai laughed tentatively.

"I spoke with Christopher yesterday."

"You… what?"

Emily glared at her daughter over her drink. "He called me, wanting to talk about you. You'll imagine how shocked I was to find that several weeks ago, you broke up with your fiancée."

Lorelai looked at the ground. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"And then," Emily continued, "if that was shocking to me – imagine how I reacted to the news that you started something up with Christopher!"

"Why on earth was he calling you about this, Mom?"

"He's worried about you. He said you haven't talked to him in weeks. I told him that he was in good company."

"Well, I can't believe he called you. It's so inappropriate."

"You know what's inappropriate?" Emily said, her voice beginning to rise. "You ditching your fiancée to run off and have a fling with Christopher. Honestly, Lorelai, how can you be so irresponsible?"

"If only you knew," Lorelai muttered.

"What was that?"

"Um… nothing, Mom."

"What's going on? Are you hiding something?"

Lorelai shook her head.

"Mom, you have to tell her," Rory whispered.

"_Now?_" Lorelai gaped at her daughter. "Are you crazy?"

"She's already mad at you. It's as good a moment as any."

"You're probably right." Lorelai looked mournfully at her untouched martini. It was frightening to think that she would be facing nine furious months of Emily and Richard without a single cocktail; that tended to be the one thing that got her through. Lorelai set down her drink, screwed her eyes shut for a moment, then said, "Mom… I'm pregnant."

Emily pursed her lips. "And who is the father of this baby, Lorelai?"

Lorelai simply lied, "I don't know." She didn't want her daughter to have to find out this way, and she certainly didn't want Emily to find out before the father himself did. Besides, when Emily heard who the father was, she'd probably try to impale her daughter's chest with one of the scarily sharp-looking candleholders on the table in front of them.

"Emily, I was wondering whether you'd seen my-" Richard ambled into the room, and stopped upon seeing the stony silence of his wife, daughter, and granddaughter. "Did I miss something?"

Emily looked at her husband. "Lorelai has just informed me that she is expecting a child."

Richard smiled. "You and Luke are expecting? Oh, how exciting! I was hoping-" 

"It may not be Luke's," Emily cut him off.

"What?" Richard shouted.

"It may be Christopher's," she explained, in an icy-calm voice.

"Might? You mean you don't even know who the father of your baby is?"

"Well, I was going to wait til it came out and see who it looked more like," Lorelai said.

"This is no time for your jokes, young lady!" Richard bellowed.

"Well I don't know what to say!" Lorelai threw her hands up in the air.

"There's nothing you can say! Another child out of wedlock? I can't believe you're going to destroy your life again, just when you things started going well for you."

"Hey! I did not destroy my life with Rory, nor will I destroy it with my next child. I understand that you're not happy about this, but you have no right to stand there and tell me I'm ruining my life. I'm a grown woman, for God's sake. Yes, there will be some issues to work out, and it won't be easy raising a kid without the dad around, but I would expect you to have a little more faith in me be now."

"How can we have faith in you, when you keep making awful mistakes?" Emily yelled.

"You know what? I'm not sixteen anymore, and I do not have to stand here and be judged by you. Goodnight." Lorelai yanked her daughter up off of the couch, causing Rory to yelp. She stormed out the door, amid her parents' shouts.

_-gg-_

Luke sat alone in a dim apartment that night. He was stretched out in his favorite chair, feet up, beer in hand. He'd had a little more beer than usual, but this was an occasion that called for it. The beer made the pain easier.

He couldn't even form the thought in his mind. Lorelai and Chris were going to have a baby. It wasn't possible, was it? But Miss Patty and Babette always had the news, he reasoned. If anyone should know what was going on with Lorelai, it would be them.

How was Luke going to bear it? How could he walk around town every day knowing that any second, he could run into Lorelai with someone else's baby in her arms? Maybe he'd run into that slimy louse too, or maybe, even worse, Chris would desert her again. That would be the worst, Luke decided. Above all, Luke hoped that Lorelai would be okay.

Because Lorelai – damn it – she was the love of his life. He didn't like to think about it, and he didn't really believe in fate. All he knew was that on days when Lorelai came to the diner, he smiled, and now that she ate breakfast at Weston's, he didn't smile very often. And the thought of falling asleep next to her every night, and waking up next to her every morning, that vision he'd carried onto for so long, had made him feel like the luckiest man in the world.

_-gg-_

Emily Gilmore sank onto the couch, but was not to have a restful evening. Minutes after her daughter stormed out, the doorbell rang again. She hoped it was Lorelai, ready to apologize for her rudeness, and was shocked to find Chris.

"Christopher! What are you doing here?" Emily snapped.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Emily. I had hoped to catch Lorelai over here. She won't return my calls, and I don't know what to-"

"Lorelai isn't here," she cut him off.

"Oh. I thought she'd be here for Friday night dinner." Desperately, Chris asked, "Do you know where she might be?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Oh, who knows with that girl. She stormed out after informing me that she's pregnant."

Chris' mouth fell open. "She's what?"

"Pregnant, Chris. Having a child."

"I- I can't-" Chris inhaled. "Who is the father?"

Emily shrugged. "I have no idea. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to be doing."

Emily hollered, "Richard! Get me a martini!" as she slammed the door shut.

Christopher sat in his car for several minutes before starting the engine. So this was why Lorelai wouldn't talk to him. They were having another baby.

Christopher resolved to go to her town and find her the next morning. He would find a way to force her to talk to him. Chris was not going to let Lorelai shut him out this time, not if they were going to have another kid. This time, Chris would be a part of her life – a part of their baby's life.

_-gg-_

Lorelai awoke Saturday with a pounding headache, the aftermath of their cataclysmic dinner. When she lumbered downstairs, she found Rory in the kitchen, fumbling with a large white bag and two huge paper cups full of coffee. Sun streamed in the kitchen windows, and Rory had opened a couple of windows, letting a cool breeze into the room.

"I stopped at Weston's to get some breakfast for us," her angelic daughter explained, handing one of the coffees to Lorelai.

"You've been to Weston's already? What time is it?" Lorelai said groggily.

"It's about ten. I've been up for hours, though. I had a huge list of things to get done today," Rory explained.

"Ah, yes, the lists. What could you possibly have to do, though? You're on summer vacation."

"Well, I need a job, so I've been visiting a few businesses, trying to see if anyone will hire a destitute college kid."

"And?"

"Well, Andrew said he could use some help, but only for a few weeks. And Taylor is hiring for his ice cream store."

"A whole summer of Taylor?" Lorelai made a face.

"I know. Plus, he only gives employees a ten percent discount."

"Ten percent? I can get a better discount than that over at Al's just by wearing my gray skirt and doing my hair flip."

"I know. It's insulting."

Lorelai dug in the pastry bag. "Did you get any jelly-filled donuts? Or pastries with fruit on them?"

"Man, you really are pregnant," Rory laughed. "Usually you insinuate that anything that's not filled with cream and topped with chocolate is a waste of your time."

"Hey, things change." Lorelai took a huge bite out of a cherry danish. "So you really think I should tell Luke about this baby thing?"

"Yeah. Even if it's not his…" Rory trailed off, and gave her mother an inquisitive look.

"Stop trying to get it out of me. I'm planning to tell the father today, and after that, I promise, you will be the first to know."

Rory shrugged. "It was worth a try."

"Look, let's talk about something else. I know. How about that Paul Anka is going to be the star of the dog show today?"

"He is not going to be the star. He's disobedient and smelly and gross."

Lorelai gasped. "How can you say that about my dog?"

"You didn't even give him a bath."

"It's not like I didn't try," Lorelai argued. "It's not my fault that my dog is deathly afraid of water. I even put a rubber ducky in the tub, and he just freaked out more. I did squirt him with a bottle of Febreeze, though. That has to take care of the smell."

"Yes, I'm sure that some fabric freshener will make a dog who hasn't had a bath in a year smell just like a mountain-top pine forest."

Lorelai stuck her nose in the air. "My dog will be charming, whether or not he smells good. Now will you just help me get his new collar on before he sees the doughnuts and hides under my bed for an hour?"

_-gg-_

In the late morning, all of the inhabitants of Stars Hollow (and their dogs) were gathering in the square for the big event. Rory, armed with plastic-rimmed sunglasses and a giant cup of coffee, laughed as her mother wrestled a hesitant Paul Anka down the street.

Rory took a sip from her travel mug. "You would think all the other dogs would make Paul Anka excited, but I think he's more afraid of them than popcorn."

"Oh, he just knows he's cooler than the rest of them," Lorelai said, trying to coax her dog to move forward by waving a treat in front of his face. Rather than moving, Paul Anka plopped down, right in the middle of the street.

"His collar has rhinestones on it. Maybe he's ashamed."

Lorelai gasped. "How could he be ashamed? He should be proud to wear an outfit that his owner spend so much time coordinating to her own. I took a major risk here. What do you think the What Not To Wear people would say about me picking an outfit to match a dog collar?"

"You're right, that's the risky thing. Not the fact that your dog could get run over as he takes a nap in the street," Rory commented.

Lorelai, frustrated, finally picked up the dog to haul him to the middle of the square. They soon ran into Sookie and Jackson, who promptly scolded Lorelai for lifting a heavy dog and putting a strain on Baby.

"Jackson, it's Lorelai's baby," Sookie told her husband. "I'm sure her picking up a dog won't cause the baby to rip in half."

"And if it does, maybe the baby can be like those lizards, you know, the ones that can grow a whole new lizard from the tail if you chop it off. Then I could have twins. Now that would be a trick, huh?" Lorelai grinned at Jackson, who simply glared at her and began walking a little faster.

Lorelai looked over at Sookie, who mock-sternly said, "This is no time for your jokes, missy!"

The two giggled behind Jackson's back until he let out an over-dramatic sigh and began to rant again about the dangers that could befall careless mothers-to-be.

Sookie rolled her eyes, but soon was distracted as they came within eyesight of the town square. "Ooo, look!" She nudged Rory as someone walked by with a Dachshund wearing a red bow tie. "Some people really went all-out, didn't they?"

Lorelai was busy eyeing the winner's platform and giving a pep talk to her dog, who was ignoring her in favor of staring at a terrier who'd escaped his owner's clutches and was scratching the trunk of a tree inhabited by a squirrel.

"Hey, Kirk!" Rory called out to the still-bandaged townsman. Kirk waved back, then let out a squawk and jumped away when a poodle yapped at him.

The event began. Outside of the crowd, Chris had climbed out of his car and was now watching Lorelai. In a gauzy blue sundress, she led around the square a Paul Anka who'd decided to rise to the occasion and, for once, obey his owner. Chris chuckled as Lorelai bowed at thunderous applause. Stars Hollow was such a weird little town.

After a while, when Paul Anka had jumped up onto the winner's platform just before the awards presentation and received a standing ovation, a blue ribbon was pinned onto the dog's collar, and Chris scrambled through the crowd to get to Lorelai.

Luke, who was watching all as he wiped tables in the diner, unable to face Lorelai, dropped his rag. What the hell was Christopher thinking, showing up like this? The guy was such a jerk. He'd stayed far away from Lorelai the whole time Rory was growing up. Luke had been the one there for Rory, through her chicken pox, her wild birthday parties, her move into college, and the separation from her mother. Well, Chris wasn't going to do that to Lorelai and her kid again. Not if Luke had anything to say about it.

Luke stormed out of the diner and fought his way to the opposite side of the crowd, where Christopher stood.

Chris said a polite hello to Luke, who simply growled, "What are you thinking, showing your face in this town?"

"What are you talking about?" Chris said, confused.

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about, pal." Luke curled his fingers into a fist.

"I don't–" Chris yelped as a punch slammed into his cheekbone.

Luke, seething, registered Lorelai's figure out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see her running and shouting at the two men.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded of Luke.

Luke was in no mood to explain. He was too pissed off at Chris, at Lorelai, at the world in general. The woman he loved was having someone else's baby. "He's a jerk," Luke said simply.

"What is the matter with you? If you have a problem, you can take it up with me. I know what I did was wrong, but you have no right to just go around beating people up because of it," Lorelai exploded.

"I didn't really know how else to handle it," Luke offered meekly.

Lorelai looked at Luke incredulously. She shook her head, placed a hand low on her stomach, and said, "Boy, you're going to make a great father."

Luke stared at the back of Lorelai as she stormed away. It couldn't be… could it? But what else could she have meant?

He was going to be a father. Luke and Lorelai were going to have a baby.


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry all. I've been a bad fanfic writer; I haven't been keeping up. But for those few loyal readers, here is my next chapter. Thanks for sticking with me! And I promise I'll try to update more frequently this semester than the last… although this year I'll be taking organic chemistry, so I make no promises :P._

-gg-

Luke stared out the window of the diner from behind his counter. The sun was setting, and in the golden dusk  
light, a dozen or so men and women were busily working in the town square. As they disassembled the booths and chairs from the afternoon dog show, Taylor strutted about, shouting things here and there.

Luke glanced down at his hands. Between his fingers was a soft, frayed piece of the newspaper, inscribed with the words, "You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away." He rolled the slip of paper around in his hand, as if he could garner the answers he needed out of it.

The bell rang, and Luke turned to see Kirk entering the diner. "We're closed," Luke hollered, hastily tucking the horoscope away and stuffing his wallet back into his pocket.

"Please, Luke," Kirk begged. "Lulu and I were supposed to go to dinner tonight, but we got in a fight, and now I'm hungry."

"Go to Al's," Luke said.

"It's seafood night at Al's, and I have a vicious shellfish allergy," Kirk countered.

"So don't eat shellfish."

"I don't want to risk it. Once I ate a mussel, and within minutes, my entire head swelled up to twice its normal size. I looked like the Elephant Man. Even trace amounts can cause my throat to swell." Kirk sighed. "Please, Luke. I have nowhere else to go."

Luke sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"

Kirk sat down at the counter and scrutinized the menu. "I'm not sure."

"Caesar made an extra hamburger."

"A hamburger sounds great," Kirk said quickly. "Can I get a milkshake too? It's just been one of those nights."

"Fine, Kirk." Luke began throwing ice cream into the blender.

As the machine was whirring, Kirk started, "This is the worst fight Lulu and I have ever had."

Luke poured the mixture from the blender into a tall glass. "Here's your milkshake, Kirk."

Kirk steamrolled ahead: "I've been trying to decide whether to propose to Lulu. I love her, and I'd like to commit to her. I'm just not sure this is the right time."

Luke slid the milkshake over to Kirk. Reluctantly, he asked, "Why not, Kirk?"

"Well, my mom has developed a lung condition that causes her to snore very loudly. I get no sleep. If Lulu were to move in, neither of us would get any sleep, and that doesn't sound like a good way to start a marriage."

"I don't think moving into your mother's house would be a good way to start a marriage, with or without the lung condition," Luke said.

"Lulu doesn't care. She says that it doesn't matter as long as we're together. I'm just not sure what to do." Kirk sipped on the milkshake. "How do you know when it's the right time to commit?"

Luke held up his hands. "How would I know?"

"Well, you and Lorelai were engaged."

"Lorelai proposed to me."

"But still-"

"Look, Kirk," Luke exploded, "I have no idea how to decide whether or not to commit. Some people commit and it's a huge mistake. They get married just because, I don't know, they get pregnant, and then they spend the rest of their lives fighting and arguing because they weren't supposed to be together in the first place."

"That's true," Kirk mused. "But if people love each other, I think they can work it out. My mom once told me that my father proposed to her after he ran her over with his car."

Luke stared at Kirk. "What?"

"Oh, yes. My father hit my mother over with his car. When she recovered, he told her that he was so scared she would die, you know, when she was in the hospital in a coma, that he realized he couldn't live without her."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. My mom accepted, and they got married. So if running someone over with a car is a legitimate reason to propose, then pregnancy is definitely better than that."

Luke shook his head. "I don't think either of those is a good reason, Kirk."

"I guess not." Kirk pondered for a moment. "I guess the best reason to commit is if you can't see yourself living without that person."

"I guess," Luke nodded. "You know, Kirk, I think you should commit to Lulu. You're lucky to have her."

Kirk nodded. "I know I'm lucky."

"Then get out of your mom's house, and marry her." Remembering a particularly scarring incident where he found Kirk asleep naked in his dad's boat, he held up a hand and hastily added, "Make sure you get an apartment first before you get out."

"Actually, I've secured the Twickham house. After you let the deal fall through, I snatched that baby right up. I've been waiting to move in until it was a sure thing with Lulu."

Unwilling to discuss anything directly related to his failed engagement with Lorelai, Luke simply added, "I would try not to run Lulu over with your car."

"That's a good plan." Kirk slipped some money on the counter. "Thanks for the advice, Luke."

"Don't mention it. Please." Luke wiped the counter with a wet cloth. He wasn't sure how exactly it happened, but somehow, Kirk had helped Luke more than he would ever know.

_-gg-_

"So tell me again what we're doing?" Paris said, picking up the TV remote and flopping on the couch. 

"We're going to the bar with Marty and his friends," Rory replied, slipping a dangly earring into one ear. "It's going to be fun."

"It better be. My New Haven restaurant story is due on Tuesday, and I have thirteen medical school applications to finish. I don't want to put it all off, and spend the rest of the weekend feeling like an anvil hit me in the head, all for an evening of getting barfed on by some boneheaded frat boys."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Paris, it's going to be great. We're going to hit the pub, and then-"

"The pub?" Paris looked at Rory. "If you had any idea how dirty that place is, you'd think twice. I've been going over some of the Board of Health records, and the pubs in this town are full of diseases that would make sewer workers cringe."

"The Board of Health records are open for public access?"

Paris shrugged. "If you know the right people to ask."

Rory shook her head. "Well, I think I'll take my chances."

Rory's cell phone rang, and she answered it with a cheery "Hello?"

"Hey Ace, how's it going?"

"Logan, hi!" Rory scooted back into her bedroom. She opened her closet door and began leafing through her clothes.

"So I've spent the whole day negotiating with a Russian client of my father's who can barely understand English, and when I tried to demonstrate something using new software, also discovered that he can barely understand how to use a computer. It took me ten minutes to explain how to turn the computer on."

Rory held a black dress against her body. It looked great on her, but was it a little too Friday-night-dinner for a trip to the pub? Maybe she could call her mom for some fashion advice.

"Rory?" Logan said.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, you just haven't said anything for the past minute."

"Oh, sorry." Rory grabbed a blue silk top. "So you spent the day with a computer-challenged communist?"

"And now I desperately need some cheering up, so what's going on with you?"

"Well, not too much. I've been working like crazy to finish a feature story about a new chemistry professor that we stole from Harvard, and Paris is harassing the Board of Health and every restaurant owner in town, to the point where one threatened a restraining order."

"So basically, the usual."

"Basically."

"Give Paris and her legal representation my best," Logan chuckled. "So, you got any plans for the weekend?"

"Paris and I are actually going to the pub tonight," Rory said.

"Good idea. Get a few shots in that girl - she needs to loosen up."

"I don't know, Paris is even scarier with alcohol. She starts having long in-depth political discussions with herself."

Logan laughed. "If you guys are hitting the pub, you should look up Colin and Finn. Those guys always start their epic nights there. Finn told me he misses 'seeing your lovely face'… that's a direct quote."

"Aww, I miss Colin and Finn. But we're actually meeting some people there."

"Who? Anyone I know?" Logan wondered.

"Um." Rory cleared her throat. "Marty?"

"Oh." Logan paused. "Well, have fun."

"You're not mad, are you?"

"Why should I be mad?" Rory noticed that Logan's voice was growing a little squeakier.

"You kind of had an issue with him last time we talked," Rory said tentatively.

"No issue. You girls have a good time," Logan said. "Oops, it looks like the Russian client needs a ride to his hotel. I'm gonna have to cut it short, but I promise I'll call tomorrow. I love you, Rory."

"I love you too, Logan," Rory reassured him, hanging up.

_-gg-_

Luke strode with purpose down the street, towards Lorelai's house. 

"Hi, sugar!" he heard Babette call from her porch, but Luke ignored her. There was no time to stop and have a conversation about garden gnomes. He walked around to the front of Lorelai's house and began pounding on her door.

It swung open, and there was Lorelai, in a blue shirt and Yale sweatpants. Softly, she started, "Luke, what-"

"I'm committing," Luke interrupted.

"You're… what?" Lorelai squinted her eyes a bit, obviously to figure out why on earth a crazed Luke was banging on her front door in the middle of the night.

"I want to be involved. The pregnancy, the birth, the baby's first birthday, all of it." Luke gestured wildly as he spoke.

"Luke, you don't have to do this," Lorelai said. "I can take care of the baby myself."

"I know you can. You did such a great job raising Rory on your own. But that's not why I want to be involved. I- I care about you, Lorelai."

"You do?" Lorelai smiled faintly.

"Yes, and I care about this baby. I know you can do a great job; you did so well raising Rory on her own. I just want to be there."

"Well, I didn't really raise Rory on my own, you know. I had some help." Lorelai smiled at Luke. "Mostly from you."

Luke shrugged and looked at his feet. "Oh, I wasn't…"

"Yes, you were." Luke looked up. Lorelai's blue eyes sparkled as she said, "You came to all of her birthday parties. You helped move her into Yale. You always gave her band-aids when she scraped her knees, and you helped bring us together last year when we had the falling-out. I can't think of a better father for my kid." Her eyes were shining with tears.

"Come here," Luke said, holding out his arms. As the first tears spilled over, Lorelai leaned into Luke, her face on his shoulder.

Luke wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her curly hair. It smelled sweet, as always. Like oranges.

"Oh, God, sorry," Lorelai said, pulling back and wiping tears from her cheeks. "Pregnancy hormones are a bitch."

Luke laughed. "Well, I'm going to be here to help with them. Every second."

"You really don't have to," Lorelai protested. "You have a job and a life and everything."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I want to make sure our baby's healthy. If I let you keep eating the way you do, the baby's probably going to have an extra arm or something."

"Probably." Lorelai laughed. "Luke, thanks so much for-"

"Don't mention it." Luke slid his hands into his pockets. "I just don't want to miss anything, you know? I mean, when I found out about April – it was great to have a daughter, but I missed the first twelve years of her life. I want to see everything, from the first kick, to hauling mattresses in and out of a dorm at Yale or Harvard or wherever this one decides to go."

Lorelai smiled for a moment, then shook her head. "Well, it's getting late. I should get to bed. And you should get home."

"I guess so. I'll see you at the diner tomorrow morning?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good. I'll have the grapefruit waiting."

"Grapefruit? Ew." Lorelai wrinkled her nose.

"Don't worry, I'll drown it in sugar. It'll go great with your decaf coffee."

"Decaf?" Lorelai growled. "You are going to be the death of me, Luke Danes."

"As long as you have a healthy baby first," he laughed.

Shaking her head Lorelai said, "Bye, Luke."

"Good night, Lorelai," Luke said.

As he walked back through town to the diner, Luke realized that he couldn't stop smiling.


End file.
